Gambia’s 2026 draft budget has sparked renewed debate after the government proposed allocating D52.5 million, approximately $700,000USD for President Adama Barrow’s annual nationwide “meet-the-people” tour, a significant increase from the amount approved for this year’s outreach.
Finance Minister Seedy Keita presented the spending plan to the National Assembly on Friday, requesting D52.5 million for next year’s presidential tour across the provinces.
The proposed figure is D7.5 million higher than the D45 million lawmakers ultimately approved for the 2024 tour, despite the executive initially seeking D50 million.
President Barrow is scheduled to begin this year’s tour on Monday, November 10, an exercise the Constitution requires to ensure direct engagement with citizens on government policies, development priorities, and community concerns.
However, the annual budget line for the tour has long been contentious. Critics argue that the visits, while constitutionally grounded, have increasingly taken on partisan overtones and offer incumbents political advantages under the guise of national outreach.
The National Assembly has frequently clashed over the allocation, with lawmakers often splitting sharply on whether the tour warrants such spending. The proposal for 2026 is expected to face similar scrutiny.
It remains unclear whether legislators will approve the full D52.5 million requested or push for reductions, as in previous years.
